Book Review: A Lost Wanderer by Namrata

Name of the book: A Lost Wanderer

Name of Author: Namrata

Genre: Travel/Memoir

Number of Pages: 179

Price (on Amazon): ₹99

Format: Kindle Version

About the Author:

Namrata is a writer, editor, and book reviewer. A published author her stories and articles have been published in various anthologies and magazines. After being an investment banker for a decade she found her true calling in books. With numbers playing in her mind and words throbbing through her veins for close to a decade now she writes, reads, and of course forgets to count them. She is currently working on her debut work of fiction based on Partition. When not reading, she can be found writing about books, music, and films on Twitter @privytrifles

About the Book and My Views

'Not every story needs to have an ending; some are beautiful with their incompleteness.'

The subtitle of this book says, 'A Book of Memories': this book does seem like a diary where the author has carefully enclosed some cherished memories. 

The book is about the joy of traveling, so most of the memories come from fascinating travel tales. The author is an avid traveler and she takes you to three wonderful places: Sydney, Ladhakh and Varanasi.

'He didn't speak English and I didn't speak Italian. But we both talked till dawn and it was the most amazing discussion I have ever had in life. We spoke in sign languages aided with broken words of the languages we knew trying to convey our thoughts across. Nothing was said, nothing was heard, and yet everything was understood.'

Travel would be incomplete without meeting strangers and exchanging some interesting conversations, right?

The Lost Wanderer is full of lovely conversations. 

To be honest, I don't travel much and I am not fond of reading nonfiction but I enjoy travel tales. Namrata's writing is so expressive, it creates beautiful imagery, so beautiful that you want to visit that place. I particularly loved Sarnath (for its serenity and enlightening value) and Ladakh (for its stunning vistas and friendly, sensible people). 

I'm very interested in learning new/unusual words. I find them fascinating and I loved how every chapter in this book starts with an unusual word, defining that particular section. Also, every chapter breaks come with beautiful/thoughtful/inspiring reminders or note to self.

Apart from meeting new people and interesting conversations, food and the culture of the place make it memorable. As you read this book, and visit different places, description of food triggers your cravings: 'Thupka (Tibetan noodle soup), Aloo-Bhaji, Jalebis, Ringna, Kullhad waali chai, aroma of freshly brewed coffee...

The book features some important facts and information that could be very useful if you are planning to travel to those places. 

The last section of this book is very special, as the author is brave enough to share her personal story (I say brave because I believe it takes a lot of courage to share your personal story) in the last section. It is so poignant, heartbreaking at times, but uplifting and inspiring at the same time. 

'We all have been taught since childhood that we need someone who believes in our dreams. It is true, but what no one ever tells us is that we also need someone who believes in our nightmares, who sees the ghosts that haunt us (both real and imaginary) and helps us overcome them.'

I took two weeks to finish this book because I feel it's not a book to be devoured in a single sitting. It's something you sip and enjoy, slowly.

Overall, a lovely, uplifting and soothing read. Must read if you love traveling or enjoy travel tales.

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon.

(My last post for this blogging marathon. It was fun. I enjoyed writing these posts, as they were absolutely random. And I loved reading so many lovely posts. Thank you, Blogchatter! And a big thank you to all the lovely bloggers who visited my blog and left kind comments. :)